Thrifty Alternatives for American Girl Dolls
December 9, 2008 by Katelyn Thomas
Filed under Holiday Thrift, Kid Stuff
So, your little one is just longing for an American Girl doll. You’d really like to get one, but the price tag is about 5 times what you can afford this Christmas. Are you going to have to crush your child’s dream? Well, that depends.
Is your child extremely name brand conscious? If so, the only help I can offer is a suggestion to request a gently used doll through Craigslist for around $20. Then, head to the American Girl website and shop the sale page for a reduced outfit so she’ll have something brand new to open. There is usually a sale code of some kind floating around, so you should be able to at least cover shipping costs. (Or check out outfits that fit American Girl dolls on Etsy. There are some adorable clothes there!)
However, if you are shopping for a child who isn’t fixated on name brands, you can find very similar dolls on sale in the $20 price range. They will fit American Girl clothes, including the matching outfits for dolls and girls. (There are many other similar doll lines out there, but they seemed to be almost as expensive as American Girl dolls and I’m trying for thrifty here!)
At Target, we found a really nice line of Our Generation dolls. They are on sale in stores this week for $19.99 and on the website for $21.99. In person, they were cute enough that my mom ended up buying one for a five year old little girl who’s requested an American Girl doll who looked like her. (If you’re planning to buy crackers and cookies for school lunches anyway, you may want to hit the grocery section first for the buy 5 selected Keebler products, get a $5 gift card sale and then use the $5 gift card to pay for your doll.)
At Toys “R” Us, we found an 18″ Madame Alexander doll line for $29.99 that looked very nice. We actually preferred it, but decided that the child my mom was shopping for would prefer the Our Generation dolls, which came with more accessories to start. These very nice looking dolls are on sale this week for $24.99.
Do you have any thrifty tips for little girls with American Girl wish lists? I’m assuming the desire to own one will spread like the plague on Christmas morning when the other girls see this one’s doll. One thing I am planning is to start sewing some outfits for the doll for a birthday gift. (and maybe at least one matching outfit for her new “mama” as well.) I did this when my sister wanted an American Girl doll when she was little. My home ec teacher was quite impressed because I turned in two pieces for one assignment. I bet I even have the patterns somewhere…In fact, I just found free patterns to download online!
Doll photo courtesy of target.com
Dear Santa photo courtesy of Steve Woods
Technorati Tags: american girl doll,cheap doll like american girl dolls,18 inch dolls
I love this blog and I’m a thrifty girl, but this idea is so incredibly awful. There’s nothing worse than when your parents gets you the generic version of the gift you want. I still remember my cheap mother doing that, and I always threw away the generic toys. Just cut some other stuff from your budget and get the damn doll. Wow.
i know wat u mean my parents are the same way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JL,
Unfortunately, in the current economy, the only things many parents have left to cut from their budgets is food, shelter, or clothing. There simply isn’t an extra hundred in their budgets for a single toy.
wow jl, you must have been a joy….threw your toys away? would have been the last toy i bought you, that’s for sure.
i agree katelyn…with the economy the way it is some parents out there have nothing left to cut.
Hi Katelyn,
I first received the American Girl Catalog when I was 10 in 1990. Back then it was still owned by the Pleasant Company. My first reaction was complete embarrassment. After all, I was 10, a Baby-Sitters’ Club fanatic and I certainly didn’t need poorly crafted generic dolls to peak my interest in stale easy-reader books. But then I got the the back of the catalog and read Pleasant T. Rowland’s letter. I went to embarrassment to wonder in ten seconds. That woman conveyed so many wonderful things about history and girlhood and beauty.
And now that the company is owned by Mattel, I just have to wonder what’s left? All I see now are the poorly crafted generic dolls and stale easy reader books that so greatly embarrassed my 10 year old self. It’s sort of like the junk version is all we have left.
So . . . I think in the spirit of what the Pleasant Company used to stand for, searching out higher quality/better value books and dolls is more true to the original intent than the current brand name. Just make sure that you talk to your daughters about the way that dolls and doll-play connect all young girls throughout history and heirlooms-quality is conferred through care and love for your most treasured possessions not by brand name or expense.
That’s what the original intention was.
Merry Belated Christmas.
My niece wants an American Girl doll for her birthday. My brother has been out of work for a year. He was laid off last christmas with a new baby and a new house to pay for. I actually think that this has taught all the kids that they don’t need top quality things. She was looking through my LTC Commodities catalog the other day and came across dolls that are the same size and look exactly the same as American Girl Dolls. I told her I would get her one. She is really excited and can’t wait to get her doll. She told that it was okay that she get a ‘almost american girl doll’. she actually told the girl next door that she was getting an ‘almost american girl doll’ and got the girl (who has 4 AMG dolls of her own) all excited about them. She understands whats important. It brought tears to my eyes and I have since thought about getting her the REAL American Girl Doll but this doll means so much more now. I have went out and got her some real clothes to go with the doll. I am so proud of my niece. Its not about the money with her! So If anyone is looking, these dolls from LTD Commodities are great looking! the ‘almost’ American Girl Dolls.
I grew up loving American Girl Dolls but never had one because they were too expensive. My best advice is to buy a used a one and fix it up like new. I bought five of them off craigslist very cheaply and proceeded to spend a few days washing, ironing, scrubbing, steaming wig and recurling, and rebraiding wigs with amazing results. There are many online resources available telling you how to restore an American Girl Doll. The cheap versions are simply not the same in the eyes of a kid. With a little patience and elbow grease you can really bring an old used doll back to life!
I have two girls that would love American Girl Dolls for Christmas. However, on principal I refuse to buy them. It is rediculous that kids think that they need $100 toys to make them happy. I feel my kids need to be thankful for what they get and if an expensive toy is that important to them then they need to work for it. I will be buying the afore mentioned dolls from Toys r us for them and they will not even know the difference because it is not a big deal in our family. We down play any brands and up play gratitude. That is the real meaning of Christmas!
Just wanted to share that the Our Generation dolls have AWFUL hair. The one I bought for Christmas was wadded up in a big knot by February.
The Tuesday Morning store often sells Gotz dolls (Gotz is the original maker of the American Girl dolls) for $30. MUCH better quality. Their 18″ Precious Day dolls are the same size/shape as the American Girls and the Maxi Muffins are the same size as the Bitty Twins. My daughter has had her Muffin for 7 years, since she was 2, and she is still in wonderful shape. You can even machine wash the Gotz dolls!
The Our Generation accessories are fun though. I prefer their horses to AG. Be forewarned the shoes are plastic though and not always a good fit. Long sleeved clothing also does not always fit AG (or Goetz)because the Target dolls have a bit smaller hands.
Michelle,
I’m going to have to check into the Gotz dolls. They sound really nice. So far, a year after my mom first bought the Target doll for the child she was shopping for, its hair still looks nice. However, I don’t think this little girl is into doing hair and it looks like she never took the original braids out. I remember redoing my dolls’ hair first thing when I got them so I suspect she doesn’t play with her dolls as hard as most little girls do.